Tools for coping during tough times

Resources and tips to help Berkeley staff and managers weather
the budget storm

By Wendy Edelstein, Public Affairs|
5 August 2009

What to expect and how to cope in your workplace

As
stressful as these economic times might be in California and
in the UC system, employees at UC Berkeley can make use of
a range of support and advice programs, whether through CARE
Services and the Tang Center, Human Resources, campus training
and career services, and even Recreational Sports. Use these
resources and tips:

Check the new Budget
Central resource calendar Whether it's a workshop on planning for change,
a class in résumé writing, or a campus
walking group to help reduce stress, the events on this
calendar offer something for everyone. Browse the offerings,
or login with your CalNet ID and submit
one of your own campus events.

The
human side of change
For managers, what to expect as people in your unit process
and respond to change, and tips for managing through it effectively.

Getting
physical
Staying fit physically can help you stay fit emotionally,
heading off stress. Take advantage of the opportunities on
campus to work out the blues and have a little fun.

BERKELEY — Furloughs are
now a certainty for campus employees during the new academic
year, but not much else is in these days of budget cutting, downsizing,
and decision-making on campus. Faculty and staff await details
on how Berkeley will implement the furloughs mandated by UC's
Office of the President and approved last month by the UC Regents,
but that program, even when fully implemented on all 10 UC campuses,
will ameliorate only about one-quarter of the University of California's
$813 million state-funding gap. Increases in student fees will
cover about another quarter. What's left must be slashed from
campus units, and for many, at Berkeley and across the system,
that means staff layoffs sometime in 2009-10.

And waiting for that particular shoe to drop can be stressful,
even grueling for employees.

As managers grapple with difficult decisions and staff await
news about cuts and layoffs, employees can find themselves feeling
helpless and unsettled, says Craig Mielcarski, director of CARE
Services, the faculty and staff assistance and referral program
offered through University Health Services. And yet, he says,
we all still have work to do every day to help our units accomplish
their goals.

"You can't deny that people are feeling anxious and worried," he
says. Although the number of CARE Services clients hasn't increased
since the budget cuts have become an overriding concern, Mielcarski
says that more people are in crisis: about 1 in 5 clients had
severe complaints before, and now it's grown to about 3 in 5,
he says.

Mielcarski recommends that people focus on the areas of life
where they do have control: getting adequate sleep,
and staying healthy through exercise and a well-balanced diet.

It's also crucial for managers and employees to communicate
during times of uncertainty, he notes. For managers that means
discussing expectations, work assignments, and plans — even
when the future is still blurry.

Control units now know the percentage they will be required
to cut from their budget, says Mielcarski. "Wherever possible,
management should try to communicate that information to staff,
even if they don't know how many jobs will be lost." He
advocates that managers tell their staff what they know about
possible consequences of the budget deficit promptly rather than "wait
for all the answers to be crystal clear." Getting information
as it unfolds — even if important details have yet to be
nailed down — will help "people navigate this time
better," Mielcarski says.

Getting
information as it unfolds — even if important details
have yet to be nailed down — will help people navigate
this time better.

— Craig Mielcarski
director of CARE Services

Similarly, staff need to talk with their managers during transitional
times. With the campus operating under a hiring freeze, many
staff have had to take on extra work to pick up slack from vacant
positions. An increased workload is also a source of anxiety,
says Mielcarski, noting a common staff concern: "If there
are further reductions, how am I going to do all of this work?"

He recommends that employees ask their managers to help them
prioritize tasks. "A lot of workers tend to put their heads
down and wait to see what happens during times like this. It's
more helpful to be proactive and try to identify what we should
focus on and do differently," he says.

Feeling overwhelmed?

It's normal to feel ungrounded during times of intense change,
says Mielcarski. "Change is hard, and any significant change
begins with loss," followed by grief, he says. Initially, "we
don't want to acknowledge or even imagine what things will look
like" after changes are implemented. "Once we start
to break through denial and accept the fact that the budget is
this bad and there are going to be reorganizations and layoffs,
most people feel let down," says Mielcarski. "You have
to go through a grief process and let go before you can move
forward."

Being assigned to work with different people or in different
units, getting moved to a new location on the organizational
chart, and taking on new responsibilities can elicit feelings
of grief and deflation, says Mielcarski. "The key is to
continue to move through those feelings and not get stuck."

Transitions are also a good time to call on support systems,
says Mielcarski, who as a counselor sees that people tend to
isolate themselves when they're feeling down. He notes that when
we are not doing well, many of us don't want to bother or burden
the people and groups we normally rely on for support. "But
if you're feeling stuck, that's the time to pay extra attention
to the people in your life who already give you good support," he
says.

If you do feel stuck, Mielcarski suggests contacting CARE Services
by phone at 643-7754 or via
e-mail. Appointments are available Monday through Friday,
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (including lunch hours.) Some after-work appointments
are also available. CARE Services will also roll out a new schedule
of courses for the fall in the coming days. On tap are classes
on managing finances and debt, as well as how to cope with stress
and change.

"Human beings are extremely resilient," Mielcarski
says, and that fact can be overlooked during hard times. "We're
resilient as individuals and as communities" that have had
the strength to navigate tough times, he says. "If we tap
into that narrative, it reinforces itself and helps us support
each other through the unknowns and the challenges."